THE CORE THEATRE PLANS ITS OFF-BROADWAY NEW YORK DEBUT OF JAMES PRINCE’S ORIGINAL PLAY INFERNO! FIRE AT THE COCOANUT GROVE: 1942

The Company Will Perform at New York’s Theatre 80 November 21 – December 16, 2018

The Core Theatre’s Artistic Director James Hansen Prince today announced the company plans an off-Broadway run of the original play, Inferno! Fire at the Cocoanut Grove: 1942, at Theatre 80 in New York City, November 21 – December 16, 2018. The play, written by James Hansen Prince, received its world premiere at The Core Theatre in Richardson, Texas, in November 2015, and had a subsequent premiere at the Boston Center for the Arts in February 2016. The off-Broadway run is The Core Theatre’s New York City debut.

It was November 28, 1942, almost a year since the bombing of Pearl Harbor. Americans were busy with the war effort and praying for their boys “over there.” On this particular night, Boston was alive with excitement as Boston College battled Holy Cross College on the football field. Cocoanut Grove, the popular, swank Boston nightclub was hopping with nearly 1000 diners: students fresh from the game, servicemen on a weekend pass, newlyweds celebrating the beginning of their new lives, and even a Hollywood cowboy making the rounds to promote his upcoming film. In the midst of such gaiety, who could have predicted that a split second mistake and greed could spark an inferno that would claim 492 lives, changing fire code safety forever!

Tickets will go on sale Tuesday, September 5, 2018 and will be available online at www.thecoretheatre.org. Tickets are $50 adults, $40 seniors (age 65 and over), and $35 students.

The performance schedule at Theatre 80 will be Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday at 7.30 pm, and Saturday and Sunday at 2.30 pm.

How/Where to Buy Tickets:

Regular Performances:

General Admission: $50
Senior Citizens (65+) $40
Students: $35

About the Playwright and Director:

James Hansen Prince is the Artistic Director and Founder of The Core Theatre, a professional theatre company located in Richardson (Dallas), Texas. He had his first taste of acting as a child at Chris Wilson’s Actor’s Theatre in Houston, Texas. He later earned his B.A. in Theater from the University of Texas at Dallas. In the 1980s, Mr. Prince steadily worked in theatres throughout the DFW and Houston areas. His passion for acting continued to thrive as he progressed into television and film work. From 1992-1994, he had his own traveling theatre company, “Theatre on the Square,” in Houston. In 2008, he and his family moved back to Dallas. After a long hiatus from acting, he was not only ready to return to acting, but to tell the stories that were welling up within him. In July 2008, he held a public reading of his first play, “A Reason to Believe.” In 2009, he opened The Core Theatre, a nonprofit 501 ( c ) ( 3 ) theatre company.

Mr. Prince has acted and directed more than 300 productions, and written 9 full-length plays, including “Mother, Middle America and Men,” “Behind the Cotton Curtain: Remembering Medgar Evers,” “A Debt that led to Home,” “Reason to Believe” and “Inferno! Fire at the Cocoanut Grove: 1942.” In addition to his prolific writing, he has directed several new productions from local Dallas playwrights along with other well- known plays.

About The Core Theatre

The Core Theatre was founded in 2008 by James Hansen Prince. The Company’s mission is to create quality theatrical productions that entertain, educate and elevate society by instilling hope and understanding using primarily original scripts by local playwrights. The Company casts professional actors, directors, and playwrights to work on its productions.